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Literature Guides For Young Adults

Literature Guides for Young Adults

Select one of the titles below to view great material that will assist you in teaching these literary classics, old and new. These teacher's guides to works of literature for the high-school level include overview information, chapter or act synopses, discussion questions, and extended learning activities. Find guides to plays, novels, essays, and other works by diverse authors such as William Shakespeare, Ayn Rand, Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Tennessee Williams, Charlotte Brontë, Henry James, Arthur Miller, Kate Chopin, John Steinbeck, Lorraine Hansberry, and many more. These literature lesson plans, printables, and extension activities will help you confidently discuss a wide variety of works.

Enhance students' understanding of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with the reading activities and questions in this literature guide. Use the resources in this printable to build students' background knowledge, create context, and explore the themes of Mark Twain's most famous novel. This guide for teachers also includes a synopsis of the book, a character list, and project ideas.

Use this guide in conjunction with After to break the silence about teen pregnancy and "dumpster babies." The questions in this guide will help you generate an important classroom discussion about unwanted pregnancy, teenage motherhood, and the unthinkable actions of the main character.

The Age of Innocence is a part-nostalgic, part-satiric recreation of the surfaces of New York City. This teacher's literature guide includes information about author Edith Wharton and discussion questions.

Compare and discuss two books by Connie Rose Porter with help from the questions in this printable reader's guide. Incorporate Imani All Mine into your high-school curriculum to help address the sensitive issues of rape and teen pregnancy. Students will learn about social and economic conditions in America during the 1960s and 1970s as they read All-Bright Court.

Although Animal Farm is an allegory of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the story is just as applicable to the latest rebellion against dictators around the world, which makes it a perfect novel for cross-curricular study. This guide includes chapter summaries, teaching suggestions, discussion questions, and writing assignments.

Anna Karenina is a novel about a married woman's adulterous affair with another man, Count Vronsky – resulting in society ostracizing them. This teacher's guide includes background information on author Leo Tolstoy, a summary of the novel, and discussion questions.

Try a teacher's guide that includes character analysis, an overview of Ayn Rand's novels The Fountainhead and Anthem, and study questions. These novels' focus on independence and the role of society in one's life will be appealing to adolescents.

Lead students in a discussion about characters and events in Antsy Does Time and The Schwa Was Here. This literature guide includes printable bookmarks, advice on how to start a book club, discussion questions, and activity suggestions for these books by Neal Shüsterman.

This teacher's guide to Bruce Brooks's Asylum for Nightface, What Hearts & The Moves Make the Man provides a pre-reading activity and classroom discussion questions for these three coming-of-age stories about teenage boys facing challenging issues, including fundamentalist Christianity, casual drug use, child abuse, racial bigotry, questionable parenting, and suicide. This literature guide also includes an interview with the author, reading skills and strategies, and activities to use across your curriculum.

Explore Kate Chopin's 1899 novella about a woman awakening to the world's possibilities. A vocabulary list, discussion questions, in-class group activities, and final project ideas are included in this literature guide.

Bring attention to domestic violence and the damaging effects of silence through the pre- and post-reading discussion questions in this literature guide for Because I Am Furniture, a verse novel by Thalia Chaltas.

Help students keep track of their reading with bookmarks to accompany the works of Joan Bauer: Peeled, Thwonk, Stand Tall, Sticks, Squashed, Rules of the Road, Hope Was Here, and Backwater. Each bookmark provides discussion questions and a brief synopsis for one of the eight books. This educator's guide also includes an interview with the author and suggestions for starting a reading group.

Extend reading comprehension by using a literature guide that contains four sections that will assist you in your teaching of Jack London's Naturalistic novel The Call of the Wild: Pre-reading Activities, Summaries and Teaching Suggestions, After Reading the Novel, and Extended Learning.

Use the discussion questions in this guide to engage students in a conversation about the characters, feelings, relationships, and story elements in A Certain Strain of Peculiar, a novel about self-discovery. This printable packet also includes extension activities and information about the author.

This teacher's guide to challenged and banned books features classroom activities and discussion questions about the novels of Chris Crutcher, the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and censorship. This is a perfect lesson-planning resource for Banned Books Week, which occurs during the last week in September.

The discussion questions in this guide can be used with any book in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series: Eight Grade Bites, Ninth Grade Slays, Tenth Grade Bleeds, Eleventh Grade Sucks, and Twelfth Grade Kills. As if junior high and high school are not difficult enough, the main character in these novels is a teenage half-vampire who is being hunted by a vampire killer.

E.L. Doctorow's City of God is a great book for those in late adolescence, when one's first serious questions about our culture and the history that shaped it are often posed. This teacher's guide will help you in your classroom discussion of the novel.

Develop students' reading comprehension and writing skills with the questions and activities in this literature guide to Climbing the Stairs, a coming-of-age story about a girl in British-occupied India during World War II.

Incorporate creative arts into your curriculum through the poetry, drama, and discussion activities in this teacher's guide for Comfort. Use these resources in conjunction with the book to enhance students' reading experience.

Illustrate complex social issues and the basic goodness in human nature through The Contender, The Brave, The Chief, and Warrior Angel by Robert Lipsyte. In addition to a pre-reading activity and information about the author, this teacher's guide includes a book synopsis, discussion topics, and a suggested activity for each novel. These books will appeal to students interested in boxing.

Sarah Orne Jewett's The Country of the Pointed Firs is a study of the effects of isolation and hardship on the inhabitants of coastal Maine. This guide contains four sections: Prereading Activities, Summaries and Teaching Suggestions, After Reading the Novel, and Extended Learning.

Raise drug awareness with the activities in this teacher's guide for Crank, the story of a teenage girl who becomes addicted to crystal meth. The questions in this guide will help you engage high school students in a serious discussion about drugs and addiction.

Compare the works of Terry Trueman with this teacher's guide to Cruise Control, Inside Out, and Stuck in Neutral. This printable guide includes a pre-reading activity and discussion questions for each book. Use these resources to promote discussion about cerebral palsy, schizophrenia, bullying, and emotional issues.

Use this teacher's guide to help incorporate contemporary fiction in your English curriculum. This four-week comprehensive unit plan for Dear Zoe, a novel by Philip Beard, includes prewriting exercises, quote-identification activities, paper topics, activities about literary styles and devices, quizzes, research activities, and a game.

Use this guide to extend students' enjoyment of the suspense thriller Double Helix. This printable guide will keep them excited about science with questions and activities about current biological and ethical issues, including genetic engineering. Also included is a synopsis of the book, a short author bio, discussion ideas, and Internet resources.

In Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we encounter the mystery and suspense of how friendly Dr. Jekyll is connected to the repulsive Mr. Hyde. This teacher's guide will assist you in your classroom discussion of this fascinating novella.

Promote thoughtful discussion about race, heritage, and women's history with this printable discussion guide to Flygirl. It includes questions, research, and activities about World War II and the Women Airforce Service Pilots program.

Try a teacher's guide that includes character analysis, an overview of Ayn Rand's novels The Fountainhead and Anthem, and study questions. These novels' focus on independence and the role of society in one's life will be appealing to adolescents.

Plan a comprehensive unit on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein with the instructional resources in this teacher's guide. This packet includes a synopsis of the novel, a list of main characters, reading activities, discussion topics, essay assignments, project ideas, and more!

Celebrate two of Gary Paulsen's great adventure stories with the resources in this teaching guide for Hatchet and Dogsong. Activities and research topics will help students explore the events and setting of each novel. After reading both books with your students, use the discussion questions to compare the main characters and encourage critical thinking.

Examine the use of verse in Tolkien's The Hobbit through riddles and rhymes. This printable teacher's guide will help students explore complex literary themes, write creatively, and discuss the intricacies of a classic good-versus-evil tale. Your class is sure to enjoy this magical and powerful tale of a fantastical land, filled with spectacular creatures.

Thought-provoking discussion questions for Hurricane Song will deepen students' understanding of this book about a high-school boy's struggle for survival in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. This literature guide also includes bookmarks with discussion questions for Rucker Park Setup, Rooftop, and Black and White.

Guides to Fiction I-M

Get students thinking about the power of love, the meaning of family, and the choices we make with the pre- and post-reading discussion questions in this literature guide to If I Stay and Where She Went, by Gayle Forman.

Compare and discuss two books by Connie Rose Porter with help from the questions in this printable reader's guide. Incorporate Imani All Mine into your high-school curriculum to help address the sensitive issues of rape and teen pregnancy. Students will learn about social and economic conditions in America during the 1960s and 1970s as they read All-Bright Court.

Utilize the Internet resources and activities in this guide for Jane Eyre, to plan lessons on the Victorian Age of British literature. This printable guide to Charlotte Bronte's romantic novel includes pre-reading and extension activities, vocabulary lists, discussion questions, and writing prompts.

Learn about Tourette Syndrome and explore the major characters, settings, and themes of Jerk, California, with the resources in this literature guide. This printable guide includes facts about Tourette Syndrome, discussion questions, writing activities, projects, and a note to teachers from author Jonathan Friesen.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair unveils the horrible injustices of Chicago's meat packing industry at the turn of the twentieth century, as the protagonist discovers the truth about opportunity and prosperity in America. This teaching guide will provide you with activities and discussion before, during, and after reading the novel.

Explore the Middle Ages through the twentieth century with this printable guide for Karen Cushman's six novels: The Loud Silence of Francine Green, Catherine, Called Birdy, The Midwife's Apprentice, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, Matilda Bones, and Rodzina. You'll find class projects and group discussion questions for each title, as well as ideas for comparing the books.

Educate students about Afghanistan's history and culture through the pre-reading activities in this guide for The Kite Runner. This printable packet also includes comprehension questions, references, and creative projects that will promote critical thinking and enhance your students' reading experience.

In Life Studies, Vreeland explores the power of art by focusing on the lovers, servants, and children of the great Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters – Manet, Monet, van Gogh, and others. She then tells contemporary stories of ordinary people who encounter art in meaningful, often surprising ways. Use the guide to raise thoughtful discussion questions in your classroom.

Extend students' enjoyment and understanding of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings by using the discussion questions in this printable reader's guide. This guide includes questions and page references for The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King.

In Milkweed, author Jerry Spinelli paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a young orphan. This teacher's guide, which includes summary, discussion questions, and activities, will help in your instruction of the novel.

Build a historical context for Willa Cather's classic novel My Ántonia with the resources in this comprehensive teacher's guide. This packet includes activities and projects to help you enhance reading instruction, discuss language, examine themes, and deepen students' understanding.

Enhance understanding with a teaching guide for Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men contains pre-reading activities, post-reading activities, an overview of the story, and a brief discussion of plot, character development, and theme.

Enhance reading comprehension with a with a guide that presents a brief overview of the novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, followed by teaching ideas to be used before, during, and after reading the literary work.

Examine events, characters, and relationships in Paper Towns with the aid of discussion questions, projects, and activities from this literature guide for high-school students. Use the book and the resources in this guide to explore social hierarchy, friendship, and emotions. This printable also includes information about nerdfighters.com, and bookmarks with discussion questions for An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska.

Use the discussion questions in this literature guide to engage students in a conversation about Lauren Myracle's Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks, a story about sisterhood and friendship. This printable also includes information about the book and tips on starting a book club.

Use a teaching guide that includes great information about Henry James as well as discussion questions to be used when teaching The Portrait of a Lady, a story about a young American woman asserting her independence and facing destiny.

Help students build background knowledge of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, explore themes, focus on literary elements, develop vocabulary, and deepen understanding with the instructional resources in this literature guide. In addition to project ideas, a list of characters, and a synopsis of the novel, this packet includes activities for before, during, and after reading.

Horatio Alger's story of how a poor boy can move from the fringes to become a respected member of society – the essence of the American Dream. This guide aims to assist teachers in planning to teach Ragged Dick in ways that will make it accessible to the range of readers in contemporary classrooms.

The 1895 book The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane tells the story of a young farm boy who becomes a Union soldier in the Civil War. Use these lessons, activities, and references to help you teach this classic novel.

Explore Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel includes a variety of activities and discussion questions to stimulate students' responses before they begin to read, while they are reading, and after they have read the novel. The sophisticated vocabulary requires inferential thinking skills which will challenge various levels of readers.

Enhance reading comprehension with a with a guide that contains an overview, discussion questions, follow-up activities and suggestions to be used before, during, and after reading the novel, Silas Marner.

Slaughterhouse-Five is about the complex journey of Billy Pilgrim. The novel follows Pilgrim through many chapters of his life after he becomes trapped in time. One voyage focuses on his POW experience during World War II in Germany.

Use the questions in this literature guide to Sleeping Freshman Never Lie to check reading comprehension and engage students in a discussion about the trials and tribulations of high school. This printable also includes language arts projects and activities to enhance students' enjoyment of the book.

Use the resources in this literature guide to Speak to engage students in a thoughtful discussion about the serious and sensitive issue of rape. This printable includes a poem by Laurie Halse Anderson and discussion questions about friendship, social hierarchy, truth, and the importance of speaking up.

Explore activities to be used with Stand Tall by Joan Bauer, a novel about helping children deal with tough times. This book is particularly well-suited to the study of the events of September 11, 2001.

Stimulate class discussion and deepen students' understanding of the book Stay with Me through the questions provided in this teacher's guide. Explore the relationships of family and friends in this coming-of-age story about a teenage girl who investigates her half-sister's suicide.

This is the story of a Korean family that immigrates to California in search of a better life, only to find that the American Dream is harder to achieve than they thought. The tale is told through the eyes of Young Ju, as she grows from preschooler to young woman.

Stimulate class discussion and deepen students' understanding of the book The Sugar Island. The reader's guide will help you examine the political and social issues in Cuba during the 1960s in this tale about family conflict, love, and a fight for freedom.

Guides to Fiction T-Z

Discussion questions in this printable reader's guide for Taps will deepen student's understanding of the characters, setting, and events in this story about a southern man coming of age during the Korean War. This guide also includes information about the author, his wife, and the story behind the book.

Spark discussion about A Hat Full of Sky, The Wee Free Men, and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents with the pre-reading activities and discussion questions in this printable teaching guide to these books by Terry Pratchett.

The teaching resources in this guide will help you explain language use in the dystopian novel The Silenced by James DeVita. Extend students' learning with a variety of projects and guide discussion with questions to ask students before, during, and after reading the book.

Appeal to students' interest in baseball with four young adult novels by John H. Ritter. This printable teacher's guide includes an author bio, Internet resources, and discussion questions for each book.

Study the history of Afghanistan and the themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini with this printable teacher's guide. It outlines a variety of activities for students to complete before, during, and after reading the novel.

The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells, is a classic novel full of intriguing characters, conflicts, and engaging themes on social class and industrialization. Following a plot summary, this teacher guide provides strategies to use before, during, and after reading the book with students.

Use the handouts in this printable guide to explore myths and folk tales from around the world that share the themes present in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Lesson planning ideas provide an in-depth look at Tolkien's Middle-earth. Unit 1 includes key terms to build students' vocabulary, suggested activities, and discussion topics to help students get the most out of Tolkien's works.

Discover the magic of language in Tolkien's work and deepen students' understanding of the text with the supplemental materials in this printable teacher's guide for The Hobbit. Lesson planning resources in this unit include a preliminary quiz, key terms to review, linguistic handouts, discussion topics, and suggested writing activities for the first seven chapters of the novel.

Enhance students' reading experience of Tolkien's The Hobbit with lesson planning resources that accompany chapters eight through fourteen of his novel. Unit 3 focuses on the characteristics of a quest story, with emphasis on the heroic epic. It includes a preliminary quiz, key terms, printable handouts, discussion topics, and suggested activities for geography and language arts.

Utilize the lesson planning resources in this guide to examine themes of power, corruption, and responsibility in The Lord of the Rings, Book One. Unit 4 includes a preliminary quiz and printables for vocabulary-building, as well as a guided discussion about the One Ring. You'll also find cross-curricular enrichment activities and handouts to help students get the most out of Tolkien's text.

Explore the magical world of Tolkien with your class through the lesson planning resources in this teacher's guide for The Lord of the Rings, Book Two. Discussion questions and suggested activities encourage students to ponder the literary and philosophical implications of free will and fellowship in the novel. You'll also find key terms, a preliminary quiz, and handouts to deepen students' understanding of Tolkien's writing.

Examine the price of progress in The Lord of the Rings, Book Three, with the lesson planning resources in this printable teacher's guide. Supplement students' reading with discussion ideas, handouts, and suggested activities that will help them understand how Tolkien expresses his love of nature through his writing.

Discuss the intricacies of a classic tale of good versus evil with the guided questions in this lesson planning unit for The Lord of the Rings, Book Four. Review key philosophy terms and explore concepts of morality and fidelity with your students through suggested cross-curricular activities and handouts to accompany their reading.

Enrich students' reading experience with the lesson planning resources in this teacher's guide for The Lord of the Rings, Book Five. This unit includes discussion questions, handouts, and suggested activities to help students analyze Tolkien's use of hope and despair during the struggle to defend Middle-earth. Use these resources to consider the influence of war on his writing.

Consider the meaning of heroism with your class as students read The Lord of the Rings, Book Six. This printable teacher's guide is full of lesson-planning resources to help students unify concepts from Tolkien's entire epic. This unit includes a preliminary quiz, key terms, handouts, suggested activities, and guided discussion questions to help students reflect on character development over the course of the Quest.

Make the most of A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson with the discussion questions, extension activities, and creative writing activities in this teaching guide. In the novel, author Barbara Dana imagines the childhood of iconic American poet Emily Dickinson.

In exploring the manners of the elite society of the age, Henry James carefully examines his characters' thoughts and motivations while creating suspense through the struggle between good and evil. This guide to Washington Square will assist teachers in presenting the novel in ways that will make it accessible to a range of students.

Encourage critical thinking and discussion with reading comprehension questions for Laurie Halse Anderson's novel Wintergirls, a story about friendship, relationships, eating disorders, and loss. This printable also includes discussion questions for Speak.

Use a teaching guide that includes background information about the two novels, The Women of Brewster Place and The Men of Brewster Place, an author interview, discussion questions, and a bibliography.

Preparation assignments, group discussion questions about lynching and civil rights, and many other resources are provided in this teacher's guide for A Wreath for Emmett Till, a poem about the murder of an African-American boy. Extension activities for language arts, current events, music, and history will help students understand the context of the poem.

Guides to Poetry

Beowulf is an epic poem written sometime around 900 A.D. and is well suited for students of all abilities. This teaching guide is organized in three sections presenting suggestions to be used before Beowulf is read, while it is being read, and after the reading is completed.

Guides to Plays

William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra is a play filled with political intrigue, power struggles, war, and the plight of impassioned lovers. This printable teacher's guide will help you with your classroom discussion of the play.

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare's "marriage" comedies in which love's complications end in recognition of the true identity of the lovers and celebration in marriage. This teacher's guide includes discussion questions, activities, and guidelines for teaching the play.

Try a teacher's guide that provides a synopsis of The Crucible, the classic play by Arthur Miller about the Salem Witch Trials. Also included in this literature guide are discussion questions and extended learning activities.

As a genre study, Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus is
a morality play, a historical allegory, and the tale of a hero gone bad. Use this teacher's guide in collaboration with classroom discussion of the play and study of the Renaissance era.

Build background knowledge in 19th-century history and culture with the lesson planning resources in this teacher's guide for Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House. This printable includes a reader's theater, discussion questions, writing prompts, project ideas, and other activities to enhance students' learning before, during, and after reading the play.

Included in this guide to Shakespeare's Hamlet are act-by-act synopses, discussion questions, student activities, and writing topics. Your students will enjoy this tragic play of revenge and familial relationships.

In Henry IV Part I, Shakespeare explores the role of honor in both private and public life, what makes a good leader, and the difficult choices a young man faces when circumstances compel him to mature too fast. This teacher's guide provides a synopsis of the play and suggested teaching activities to help students get the most out of this fascinating play.

The themes of William Shakespeare's Henry V include coming of age, justice and mercy, appearance vs. reality, leadership, and the comradery of men in arms. This teaching guide will facilitate the teaching of Henry V by pointing to strategies and resources which can lead
students to overcome its challenges and appreciate its beauties.

One of the most important themes of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is the question of what qualities make up a good leader. This guide provides a brief overview of the play, followed by teaching ideas to be used before, during, and after reading.

In King Lear, by William Shakespeare, Lear retires from the monarchy and gives all power to his three daughters, resulting in a dramatic shift in his relationships and feelings of authority. This guide provides questions, themes, and synopses that are applicable before, during, and after reading the play.

The plot of Aristophanes's Lysistrata depicts Athenian women who are fed up with the Peloponnesian War, so they orchestrate a sex strike in order to force their husbands to vote for peace with Sparta. This teaching guide will help in your discussion of this funny, bawdy, and historically valuable play.

The plays in The Mousetrap and Other Plays cover Agatha Christie's work from 1944 to 1960 and are accessible to all students, due to their short length and overall complexity. This teacher's guide will help in your instruction of these excellent plays.

With themes of love and friendship, your students will enjoy studying Shakespeare's comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. This teaching guide includes act summaries, discussion questions, and extensions intended to further engage your students in the classroom.

This teaching guide will assist you in your instruction of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, a puzzling, yet interesting play about the relationships of people living in the then-corrupt city of Vienna. This play is perfect for mature students.

Introduce students to the common themes in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice through the pre-reading activities in this printable guide. Then, use the discussion questions and teaching suggestions to enrich students' reading experience of the play.

Love, villainy, friendship, parent-child relationships, society, and customs – Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing touches on all of these themes. This teacher's guide presents strategies and activities to use in presenting the play to your students.

Enhance understanding with a teaching guide for Shakespeare's Othello provides a variety of ideas and activities to serve as a springboard to enrich student learning. Intense feelings are exhibited in this play -- love, hate, jealousy, envy, even lust -- which makes it a perfect choice for mature students.

Utilize the resources in this teacher's guide to explore the historic, cultural, and linguistic significance of Pygmalion, a Victorian play by George Bernard Shaw. This printable packet includes enrichment activities that you can use before, during, and after reading this play.

Enhance understanding with a teaching guide for Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun contains an annotated list of characters, a brief synopsis of the screenplay, and teaching suggestions to be used before, during, and after reading the play. This literature guide makes a perfect lesson for Black History Month.

Explore Shakespeare's Richard III includes a variety of activities and discussion questions to stimulate students' reactions and responses to this history play. The complexity of background information, the quick shifts of action, and the large number of characters makes this play appropriate for high school students who need a challenge.

Use a teaching guide that includes a synopsis and commentary of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, teaching activities, discussion questions, and essay topics. The famous tragedy of star-crossed lovers will fascinate your students; it is a good choice as an introduction to Shakespeare's plays.

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, contains considerable complexity both in individual characters and in relationships among those characters. The teaching activities are largely based on a belief that staging the play is the most effective way to involve students in thinking about and responding to the story.

Because The Taming of the Shrew deals with relationships between several different "courting" couples, it can capture the attention of adolescents. The lively comic plot and appealing characters make it an excellent introduction to Shakespeare. This guide includes a brief overview, suggestions for teaching the play, and extended learning activities.

Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest, covers the serious topics of colonialism and imperialism, making this work perfect for cross-curricular study. This guide includes a detailed synopsis and suggested teaching activities for before, during, and after reading the play.

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, or What You Will, the story of a brother and sister, is an interesting blend of the sadness, romance, farcical comedy, gentle sarcasm, and irony. This guide to the play provides an act-by-act summary and activities to use while teaching the play in your classroom.

Based on her work with UNICEF in Latin America, this guide to Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope by Jenna Bush will help students reflect on the themes of the book and expand their learning. Themes include living with HIV, keeping secrets, breaking cycles of abuse and infection, and struggling with poverty. The five lessons and four handouts in this guide are correlated to U.S. national standards.

Engage your students' interest in their health and well-being with the interdisciplinary activities in this teacher's guide for Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food. This guide includes lesson planning ideas and discussion questions about nutrition, the history of fast food, and the practices of fast-food corporations.

After reading the collection of nonpartisan essays in Declare Yourself, use this guide to plan a Declare Yourself event for your school or library as you teach teenagers about voting, political activism, and democracy.

The six lessons in this literature guide for Good Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth will help you explore American history, culture, and politics during the time of Lincoln. Included are lesson planning ideas, interdisciplinary activities, assessment rubrics, and additional Internet resources to supplement your history curriculum.

Use the lesson planning resources in this printable guide to Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl to explore the literary elements and historical information in this classic female slave narrative.

Celebrate communication skills with this teacher's guide to Lisa Winkler's Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project. Use the lesson planning resources in this printable to teach students of all ages about the power of storytelling and how to conduct successful interviews.

Enhance understanding with a teaching guide for the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which provides questions and activities for each chapter as well as a suggested bibliography for extended learning. This text is a great supplement for your Black History Month curriculum or when studying pre-Revolutionary America.

Get a fresh perspective on what we eat with this teacher's guide to Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, a book that investigates culinary traditions and three modern food chains. This printable literature guide includes a summary and reading comprehension questions for each chapter.

Lessons, websites, recommended books concerning William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation to expand classroom discussion. Also includes excerpts from Of Plymouth Plantation and other related documents. Discussion of this document makes a great Thanksgiving activity.

Use a teaching guide that includes background information on author Jack Kerouac as well as discussion questions and resource links for use with the book. On the Road epitomized to the world what became known as "the Beat generation."

This printable teacher's guide contains discussion questions, lesson ideas, and extension activities for September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City, a book of firsthand accounts by people who lived through the terrorist attacks. The resources in this literature guide will help your students examine how the events of 9/11 impacted individuals, the U.S. economy, world politics, and international relations.

The Signet Book of American Essays contains thoughtful and interesting essays from a variety of authors, from Ben Franklin to Eudora Welty. This teaching guide will assist you in using the book in your classroom curriculum.

Explore the modern food industry, the history of food processing, and the role foods play in our culture with the discussion questions and writing prompts in this literature guide for Steve Ettlinger's Twinkie, Deconstructed. This printable also includes many projects about the chemistry of food and its production.

Two Years Before the Mast is a powerful 19th century personal narrative that will provide students with an authentic understanding of America's maritime heritage and the tremendous difficulties endured by sailors. This teacher's guide emphasizes the importance of the genre of personal narrative and the connection of historical events to today's times.

Enrich student's understanding of Babe Ruth's life and career with this discussion guide to a biography about the baseball great. This literature resource includes comprehension questions, critical thinking questions, and activities for Up Close: Babe Ruth, by Wilborn Hampton.

Further students' understanding of technology and civilization through these reading comprehension and discussion questions for Up Close: Bill Gates, a biography by Marc Aronson. Use this literature guide to encourage thought-provoking classroom conversation about the character and attitude of Bill Gates, the history of Microsoft, and the success of his business ventures.

Encourage reading comprehension, critical thinking, and thought-provoking classroom conversation with the questions in this teacher's guide for Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald, a biography by Tanya Lee Stone. Students will learn about the Harlem Renaissance and discuss the challenges jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald faced as a black vocalist in the 1960s.

Discuss the life and work of Harper Lee—author of To Kill a Mockingbird—with your students. Use the questions in this guide for Up Close: Harper Lee, a biography by Kerry Madden, to promote critical thinking and encourage thought-provoking conversation.

Booker T. Washington's autobiography, Up from Slavery is an inspirational story of hard work and positive goals, the epitome of the American dream. This teaching guide suggests prereading, during reading, and after reading questions and activities.

Get students thinking about business and economics with this discussion and activity guide to The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works–and How It's Transforming the American Economy by Charles Fishman. Through the discussion questions and project ideas in this literature guide, students will consider the influence of such a large corporation on towns, small businesses, and the makers of consumer products.

Refer to the discussion questions in this guide before, during, and after reading War in the Middle East: A Reporter's Story to encourage critical thinking about war and world politics. Use these resources with the book to teach students about the history of events leading up to Black September and the Yom Kippur War.

Provoke students' thoughts on peer pressure, friendship, and their goals in life with discussion questions for We Beat the Street, a true story about three teenagers and the obstacles they overcame. This guide also includes a short biography on the authors, a journaling exercise, and an art activity.